META: Mobile Experience
From some things I have read, the Mobile Apps will not be updated.
This is due to the site being optimized for viewing on Mobile devices.
Sounds good - but seeing a few quirks.
My biggest one is that I can't seem to find the Diaries on a mobile device.
Am I blind?
Post below any other quirks you have found that might be helpful to pass on to the team and HUEL!
Ditching the mobile apps feels like a huge mistake. Most people use the apps, which are just much easier to access. I'm disinclined to look at the site as frequently as I used to.
You can create a shortcut to the site on your phone and put it in the same place as you used to click for the app. Problem solved!!
Yeah but it doesn't solve the formatting and general clunkinessof the board...and what you suggested was the first thing I did.
I liked to be able to open the app, see the article list and notice if there was anything new. It was almost too easy.
I used the app the most, so I'm sad to see it go, too. I'm guessing the data demand mentioned earlier, combined with the fact that they did not monetize it properly with ads, led them to ditch it, but that's a huge mistake IMO. There's so much ad revenue available in the app space.
Agree. I would anticipate them seeing a decreased amount of traffic due to this. People have apps on the front page of their phone. Those get clicked on way more than using the mobile web browser and then typing in a web address. I would happily contribute toward the cost of developing and new app.
An app for the board sounds great.
Hopefully Brian and Co will work out the kinks.
My recommendation would be to solicit feedback from variety of users...5-10 of us, and priorize some usability improvements. These people should cover the spectrum of the types of users they have, and I think they should build of set of personas based on talking to users and design around their needs. From my experience, this rollout has made reading much less conventient - both from mobile and web .
I’m having an issue where unless I log in via a desktop, if I try going to mgoblog.com it takes me straight back to the MySpace-looking mgoblog from the last few days. All I can see on a mobile device is the MGoBoard and the diaries. Nothing that Brian and Co. post.
Clear cache. That’s what did it for me
My unwanted thoughts/comments.
I like Apps. I never use safari on my phone. All my favorite apps are on the front of my phone and I click them every day. I rarely use the mobile browser. Someone suggested a board only app and I would be all for that.
I hate not seeing the name of the thread author before having to click the then read. I want to know if certain people post something. ie. UMBig11 I also will ignore certain people that post stupid things with vague titles
How do you “go back”? This could be user error, but after you post, how do you get back to the board? If I click back, it takes me to my message I just typed??
The size, it’s all too big on mobile. Like others have said, there is a lot of scrolling .
These are just gripes I’ll get over soon. I think the new site looks great on desktop, which I rarely use. I would just like to see an app as that is what I use the most and think it is a better fit for viewing the board on mobile.
I love the app and it will take a little getting used to using a mobile site instead - but it makes sense. This site can not be much more accessible to the masses outside the normal MGoBlog addicts like us. It can be linked to and visited more easily, bringing more readers to MGoBlog.
HOWEVER
I can't enlarge the font like I could for the app. Most readers mid-40s and older use (and like me, NEED) larger fonts to read. Our reading glasses help, but not enough. I won't be using the mobile app very much at all unless this can be adjusted, unfortunately.
Using phone settings to enlarge font size doesn't adjust the webiste font size, unfortunately.
Funny you want the font bigger, and I just suggested it smaller. ;)
On my phone if I do the "pinch zoom" the font gets bigger. That is what is meant by a "responsive" website. Does your font not get bigger if you zoom?
There is a lot of "White space" with this new layout. I can only get 2 or 3 comments on my phone screen at a time. It causes a LOT of scrolling. I preferred the smaller font and more compact design of the old mobile.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the new site, I just think there is opportunity to compact things vertically for less scrolling on PC and phone.
Agreed, while the site is responsive to mobile, it’s not yet optimized for mobile IMO. Excessive white space is one of the first things I noticed too.
Let’s give the team some time as I think a lot of these issues will be worked.
Definitely, I mean it's only been 18 months. I'm sure they'll get to it.
I’m not the guy who built the app, but I am a mobile developer and I’d be happy to contribute to a new solid app.
Still not seeing up-thumbs and down-thumbs on apple iOS devices (phone or ipad).
The app makes navigating to/within the MGoBoard content so much easier/faster from my phone. Since the MGoBoard is where most of the rich content resides (especially on the weekends), this is an important usability feature.
The responsive mobile sight is extremely frustrating to view in locations with limited or intermittent reception, see eg, the NYC subway system.
So much harder to use. Please make another app or have everything in order like the old app
I’m just going to echo some of the other comments posted.
The new site is not easy to read on mobile. Scrolling for days. Endless “white space”. Far too many clicks to get to the MGoBoard. Not being able to view the author of the mgoboard thread.
This is 2018. There are millions of apps available in the app stores. I feel the blog should have one. Put HUEL on it. Charge $0.99 if you have to. I long for the days of the HD app.
Agree with the fact that there should be an app. Makes thing so much more efficient and simple for mobile users. I think everyone would use it with an even steeper price tag than $.99
What's the Over/Under on the number of days before MGoBlog 3.0 has worked out all the kinks? Ordinarily, here I'd embed the video for the Kinks' song Days, but working from a PC and using Chrome, the best I can do is insert the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2svmUcsKeg
First, I love the overall site redesign. Thank you so much for the time, energy, and effort you've invested to make this place an even better experience and forum for us! I greatly appreciate it!
For the sake of argument, I am going to assume you guys are in the initial phases of a more comprehensive rollout. As someone who does this for a living, I am sure you are working out a number of "kinks" at the moment, which makes a ton of sense.
I would be curious to hear / learn / know what you plan to do to improve the user experience for mobile. I admittedly logged into my desktop version of the site to post this message because the mobile "experience" is - honestly - pretty unpleasant.
If the goal is to go with "mobile response," that's totally cool. You may want to check out sites like Reddit, however, which makes their mobile version of the desktop site pretty optimal to use. My humble $.02...and - again - thank you very much!
Bummed the app is gone. This will take some getting used to. Hell i havent visited a regular website in a while
I know people usually dislike change, but... this site now feels worse.
I don’t see people’s points. You know, if a MFer has -150 points and joined yesterday, I used to know he’s a douchebag troll.
Yeah if you are viewing vertically they get hidden. I guess for the sake of space?
They are there if you turn your phone sideways, which as many have mentioned is not natural/ideal.
Yeah, this is awful. Ill be back when the board is out of the 1990’s.
HEY YOU GUYS!!!!
-Chunk
I use mobile 99% of the time. I can't see users point totals unless I click on their username. Is anyone else having this issue?... This makes trolling easier for fake accounts.
Using Android Moto x, through chrome browser.
Oh and I can't see their join date either... I'm replying to my own post because I also don't have an Edit option either.
They are hidden if you’re viewing vertically. If you’re really curious you can flip to horizontal for a second. Not ideal but it’s an option.
Thanks, it works, but that's going to be a pain in the ass.
Woof. Just woof. I know it’s free and I love the content and everything about this site, but this is a downgrade from just viewing the previous .com on mobile. Wow.
App was SO much easier to navigate than browser. Blog just went from commonly read to occasionally read, too hard to get to. Can anyone imagine Twitter eliminating app?
I financially/logistically get the whole taking advantage of a mobile optimized site as a reason to not deal with the develop costs and headaches of a mobile app. Even moreso, I get thar historically, mgoblog has had some issues and reluctance when it comes to throwinf resources at mobile developerd. But at the same time, I enjoy the app experience.
These days, seldom am I on a computer outside of work. I do almost everything on my cell phone, and as petty as it is, I don't like going to my browser to pull up a website I frequent (even when mobile optimized) when in most cases, that website as an app. The app is easier to get to, and even further optimized for a mobile experience.
I hope at some point Brian and Co reconsiders.
As others have said, big thanks go to HUEL and the MGoBlog staff for working hard to bring us a better experience of something we love to learn and talk about - Michigan sports.
To add my voice to the feedback, I also primarily consumed the information on the site through the mobile (specifically Android) mobile app and almost never use my mobile browser. In addition, there is a lot of extra white space in both the regular and mobile versions.
To Brian and company, many thanks for your efforts and thank you also for continuing to improve our enjoyment of what you produce.
I liked the homepage post notifications on the HD app. I don’t think any app is in the plans for now, but I would be nice to have notifications that aren’t RSS feed emails for when there are posts on the homepage.
Also, and this is purly superficial, but I liked having the block M app icon on my phone. I added the website to my homepage and got some lame screen shot of the homepage instead of an icon.
Can we get a favicon implemented? It’s pretty simple code.
I just really don't like the webpage on mobile experience. Yes, the HTML5 is dynamic, but it's not nearly as clean or convenient as an app. HTML5 is meant to be convenient when you are on mobile and directed to a site (via search or link), not to replace an app. There is not a single webpage that I intentionally visit on my phone and there are no websites (other than work related) that I visit on a computer without being directed via link or search. Sorry, i just think this is a major mistake and will definitely hinder my site visits.
I just really don't like the webpage on mobile experience. Yes, the HTML5 is dynamic, but it's not nearly as clean or convenient as an app. HTML5 is meant to be convenient when you are on mobile and directed to a site (via search or link), not to replace an app. There is not a single webpage that I intentionally visit on my phone and there are no websites (other than work related) that I visit on a computer without being directed via link or search. Sorry, i just think this is a major mistake and will definitely hinder my site visits. Just to put it out there... I'd be willing to pay for an app.
Not having an app is really stupid. Do people really still sit in front of their computers and browse the web? What is this 1950?
For me, the board on the mobile site keeps showing threads about Michigan State
my experience so far has been... not great. Took me a few days just to find this board. Wasn't seeing any new posts on the app, and if I went to the front page on a browser I got a big yellow montrosity with no link to the board. Finally a google search brought me here. Still don't know how to get the real front page, and using a browser on my phone is a pain.
You have to clear your cache. Or throw an / at the end of the URL to grab the most recent site. Same thing happened to me at first.
Mobile wise for me, so far so good. Like anything new, it will take an adjustment period.
Wow. There are some tweaks to be made (editing comments, tracking new comments, etc.) but I can't say I have anywhere near the issues you guys seem to have with the new site. Too much white space, too much scrolling, etc.? Really? Ok. I've used the site on my phone (not much, I don't typically use my phone for such things since I have a much larger computer screen to do so on) but it's a pretty clean experience, in my opinion. Everything's there and I had no issues except for the same tweaks that need to be made to the overall site. *shrug*
I don't know, maybe it's because my Mgoblog use is usually done on a desktop browser but the mobile experience seemed perfectly fine to me.
I will echo the predominant theme and request that major effort is put into upgrading the mobile experience. As developers, Brian and Co. are probably used to interacting with and experiencing the site via desktop or laptop computer. I’m willing to bet that the majority of their viewers primarily view mgoblog via their mobile device. It’s how everyone primarily accesses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and basically any other online product. That means an inferior mobile experience will jeopardize viewers and likely diminish traffic. If it takes me 5 or 6 taps to do something (like quickly find my previous posts and who has reacted to them) that used to take 2 or 3 taps, then I’m going to tire of the chore and just stop checking as regularly. The site content is second to none but the way your consumers access it matters, big time. Abandoning the app is a shortsighted and poorly thought out idea, especially when it comes to the board and commenting on articles.
I actually like the website on mobile, it's way more user friendly and I never used the app anyway. Besides, it's like an app would look except in the browser so I don't really get the complaints